Govt hailed for internet feat on Mt Kilimanjaro

ECONOMISTS and tourism stakeholders have commended the government’s move to install high-speed internet at Mount Kilimanjaro, predicting increased streaming of tourists and revenues from the sector.

They believe the installation of internet services on Africa’s rooftop will further spread the truth about the location of the iconic volcanic mountain and complement President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s initiatives to promote tourism for national development.

“This is a good initiative, the government has made a right decision to meet the demands brought by the advancement of science and technology,” Prof Humphrey Moshi, a senior lecturer of economics at the University of Dar es Salaam, told the ‘Daily News’ on Thursday.

He said, since the world is changing rapidly, it was high time for the country to adopt the transformation by adding value to the tourism sector that contributes 25 per cent of foreign currency.

Prof Moshi noted that the presence of internet services on Mt Kilimanjaro will allow climbers to enjoy reliable and real time communication, connecting them with their loved ones at home and the rest of the world.

“This is a necessary service that should have been introduced years ago, but we aren’t late,” he said.

His views were echoed by tourism stakeholder Mr Sirili Akko, a Chief Executive Officer of Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), who was optimistic that the first ever internet service will give the world’s highest free-standing mountain its due market share in international marketing space.

“This is a very timely initiative that will add value on Mt Kilimanjaro,” he noted, suggesting that accessibility of internet services in Africa’s highest mountain will create more employment with envisaged increase in the number of tourists.

For his part, the head of Tanzania Porters’ Organisation (TPO) Mr Loishiye Mollel, welcomed the installation of high-speed internet services, describing it as a good promotion strategy.

“TTCL has done a commendable job because at times the climbers would want to share with their loved ones their statuses during the expedition,” he offered.

Mr Mollel added that internet access at the iconic mountain will help in rescue missions for climbers and porters.

Around 50,000 tourists climb Mount Kilimanjaro annually. There are about 20,000 porters working between Mt Kilimanjaro and Meru.

A lecturer on tourism and cultural anthropology at the University of Iringa Dr Jimso Sanga, asked the government to consider extending the services to other tourism attractions located in remote areas.

This, according to him, will also attract tourists in the remote tourism attractions, hence improving the contribution of the sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

When launching the services on Tuesday, the Minister for Information, Communications and Information Technology, Nape Nnauye, said the service is part of the government’s continued efforts to improve services in the tourism sector.

The move is also sought to attract more tourists and contribute to the growth of the national economy, said Mr Nape, underscoring the need for proper use of the internet for development instead of using it to incite hatred and disunity among people.

“I want to send this message to the world to value humankind, people are bullying each other on the internet, this is not right, we are providing the internet for the sake of promoting development,” he said.

“We want it (internet) for development, we want people to love and respect each other. We are at the roof of Africa, this is the message from Africa and we want the world to come together,” he added.

The Minister further praised Chinese company Huawei for its contribution in deploying network coverage on the mountain Kilimajaro which will not only help to attract more tourist to Tanzania allowing them to share and promote the country’s rich tourism resources to the world in a timely manner, but  will also improve employment, increase incomes and promote national development .

“The connection of Africas’s highest peak brings hope and strengthen  to the people of Tanzania, and makes Tanzanian proud of their country once again,’’ he said

Mr Nape went on to ask members of the community to use all the innovation in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in unifying people in a sense that creates peace, love and harmony.

TTCL’s Director General, Eng Peter Ulanga said,:“We worked  closely with Huawei  during the construction of the network to connect  Africa’s  highest peak. Huawei has provided us with high quality equipment that worked smoothly despite extreme weather conditions,’’